Final Fantasy 7

The following timeline lists all events tied into Sephiroth's history. This includes spoilers for Final Fantasy VII, and eventually, spoilers for Final Fantasy: Advent Children as well.

• Over [-]2000: Cetras come to the world and interact with the slowly thriving human race.
• [-]2000: The sentient alien being known as Jenova enters the world and attacks the Cetra, causing the original "crises from the sky". The Cetra were able to confine JENOVA, but not before being fatally infected with a virus she unleashed, eventually dying out and wiping out most of the Cetra race. Humans continue to flourish.
• [-]57: Birth of Vincent Valentine
• [-]57-50: Birth of Lucretia
• [-]48: Birth of Red XIII
• [-]33: Birth of Barret
• [-]32: Birth of Cid Highwind
• [-]30 Approx: JENOVA was found confined in the geological stratum by Professor Gast of Shinra, who he believes to be an Ancient. Experiments involving JENOVA and Mako energy begins. Vincent Valentine, now a Turk, first meets Lucretia, and falls in love.
• [-]30: the JENOVA project begins, tasked with attempting to replicate the powers of the Ancients / Cetra into the next generation of SOLDIER members. This was created with the belief that these supersoldiers, imbued with magic and super strength, would lead Shinra into the Promised Land, where Mako energy is infinite and can be harnessed further by the organization.
• Between [-]30 and [-]25: Lucretia chooses Hojo over Vincent, and becomes pregnant with Hojo's baby. Both mother and the child in her womb are injected with JENOVA cells. Sephiroth is born, and Lucretia is transformed by the infusion of JENOVA cells. Vincent Valentine tries to intervene, is defeated by Hojo, and is injected with both monster serum and JENOVA cells. He is then sealed in cold sleep at the Shinra mansion mausoleum in Nibelheim. Sephiroth is taken away from his parents, never knowing who they are.
• bBetween [-]24 and [-]22: Gast leaves Shinra in disgust, meets Ifalna, the last Cetra.
• [-]22: Aeris Gainsborough is born to Gast and Ifalna. Gast dies shortly afterwards, killed by Shinra.
• [-]21: Cloud Strife is born. Zack may have also been born around this time, possibly earlier.
• [-]20: Tifa Lockhart is born.
• [-]16: Yuffie Kisaragi is born. Sephiroth, already subjected to artificial aging to speed up his growth, is trained to become a SOLDIER. He rises quickly in ranks and becomes a top-ranking officer.
• [-]9: Zack serves under Sephiroth. Cloud decides to join SOLDIER to become like his idol, Sephiroth.
• [-]5-3days: Sephiroth is known as the best SOLDIER in Midgard. He and Zack are sent to investigate a Mako reactor in Nibelheim, accompanied by an escort guard named Cloud Strife (hiding his face from Tifa because of his failure to become a SOLDIER) and a tourist guide named Tifa Lockhart (who doesn't know Cloud is on the mission as well). Zack and Sephiroth discover the monster pods and the JENOVA entity.
• [-]5: Events of Final Fantasy: Last Order. Sephiroth spends three days reading about the Ancients and the JENOVA project, and comes to the conclusion that he is a Cetra. He burns Nibelheim and heads to the Nibelheim Reactor to free JENOVA. He kills Tifa's father, and injures both Tifa and Zack. He also severely injures Cloud, but the latter survives and manages to throw him and JENOVA's head into the Mako pit below. Sephiroth is presumed dead.
• Between [-]5 to -[4]: Shinra covers up the Nibelheim incident. JENOVA is shipped back to Shinra headquarters under the care of Hojo. Meanwhile, Hojo begins the Sephiroth Copy program, and uses the dead villagers of Nibelheim to create his clones. Cloud and Zack are added to the Sephiroth Copy program and subjected to JENOVA infusions by Gast, their memories intertwining. Zack is unaffected by the cells, but Cloud reacts violently. Zack later frees himself and Cloud, only to be killed by Shinra while tending to Cloud's injuries. Cloud takes Zack's Buster Sword and believes Zack's memories to be his own.
• Over the course of [-]5 to [-]1: Sephiroth's body is transported through the Lifestream into the Nothern Crater, where he is sealed in a Mako chrysalis. Though his physical body was heavily damaged, his mental abilities and willpower were so immense that he can project his psyche / astral self anywhere he chooses. After learning of the knowledge of the Ancients through the Lifestream, Sephiroth begins planning to retrieve the Black Materia to call on Meteor, and controls the JENOVA cells in the other Sephiroth copies.
• PRESENT [0]: events of Final Fantasy Seven. Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barrett Wallace, Aeris Gainsborough, Cait Sith (Reeve of Shinra), Red XIII, Yuffie Kisaragi, and Cid Highwind fight against Shinra. Sephiroth Clone #1 kills the President of Shinra while AVALANCHE raids the Shinra Headquarters, searching for the Black Materia. Later on, the Reunion starts; all the Sephiroth clones begin to head for the Northern Crater. Vincent Valentine awakens and joins party. Cloud and party finds Black materia, but Sephiroth Clone #1 controls the JENOVA cells in Cloud's body, making him attack Aeris. Aeris also prays at the Temple of the Ancients for Holy Materia, but Sephiroth Clone #1 kills her. Cloud and party hunts him back to the Northern Crater, where they find the damaged physical body of the real Sephiroth. Sephiroth controls the JENOVA cells in Cloud again, making him give him the Black Materia. Sephiroth summons Meteor and creates a barrier around the Northern Crater preventing entry. The White Materia is found by Cloud and party, which seems to mean Aeris had succeeded in praying for Holy. The Shinra's Sister Ray later breaks through the barrier, and Cloud and party once again hunts for Sephiroth. After battling JENOVA, and then Bizarro Sephiroth and Safer Sephiroth, Cloud and party wins. Sephiroth pulls Cloud into his mind to fight one last time, but he is weakened and easily killed by Cloud. JENOVA is freed from both Cloud and Sephiroth at the moment of Sephiroth's death.
• [+]2: events of Final Fantasy: Advent Children. the disease known as Geostigma is spreading across the world. It is discovered that Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, three people who look like Sephiroth, contain Sephiroth's spirit in them. The three 'clones' try to steal Jenova's head from Rufus and his Shinra allies. Kadaj succeeds, and during a fight with Cloud, Sephiroth takes control of Kadaj's body. Sephiroth plans to use Geostigma to create enough energy for him and Jenova to use the planet to travel through space. Cloud fights him however, and defeats him. Sephiroth reverts back to Kadaj. All three clones are returned to the Lifestream, and Geostigma is cleansed through Aeris' healing rain.
• [+]500: RED XIII has propagated his species, and looks over at the fallen ruins of Midgard, overgrown with vegetation. It is unclear whether the human species no longer exists, or whether only Midgar itself is now unoccupied.